Craft vendors report thefts at New Bedford Folk Festival

Friday

Jul 11, 2014 at 12:01 AMJul 11, 2014 at 5:44 AM

NEW BEDFORD — The products of seven crafts vendors at the New Bedford Folk Festival were stolen overnight Saturday, marring an otherwise successful tourism stint that brought nearly 30,000 visitors to the city to see the Charles W. Morgan, July 4 fireworks and the festival.

JONATHAN CARVALHO

NEW BEDFORD — The products of seven crafts vendors at the New Bedford Folk Festival were stolen overnight Saturday, marring an otherwise successful tourism stint that brought nearly 30,000 visitors to the city to see the Charles W. Morgan, July 4 fireworks and the festival.

Roger Galuska, a potter who was there to peddle his wares, said $650 worth of his mugs were stolen from his tent overnight. The festival organizers had promised security, he said, which is why he chose not to load and unload his van each day, opting instead to leave the pottery in his tent.

"When I do a show, I do it only when I know there's security," Galuska said. "I was there last year and did well."

The thefts were reported Sunday morning, according to Capt. Steven Vicente of the New Bedford Police Department. Items stolen from the vendors' tents on William Street near Johnny Cake Hill included T-shirts, business cards, jewelry and pottery mugs, he said.

He said the larger-than-usual number of visitors to the city last week could have contributed to them.

"Most of the time we're the only event occurring over that weekend, with the Cape Verdean festival as well," he said. "Maybe we were a victim of the enormous growth that took place over the weekend in terms of tourism. I guess that's one of the downsides."

Michael Casper, superintendent at Global Watch, the security firm that the festival organizers hired, said his staff apprehended "two or three" of the suspects.

"They chased them down, went into one of the bars I believe, and watched them there," and then identified them to police, Casper said. But he said there were likely "more than the two or three that were apprehended. I think they all went in separate directions."

As for recovery of the stolen goods, reports have been filed with the police department and some jewelry was found on the street nearby, Capt. Vicente said. No arrests have been made in the case yet, he said.

Police Chief David Provencher said police want to track down the suspects, so they will have their day in court.

In the meantime, he said it's a reminder to be vigilant no matter the situation.

"I think it's important that when you have events like that, you have to be alert to the possibility that people will take advantage of the opportunity," Provencher said. "I think that most fair-minded people will understand that no matter what precautions we all take, there's a possibility that something like this might happen.

"Like everything else you want to enjoy life, have fun, but be aware of your surroundings and if you see something out of the ordinary, report it. Those are watch words for all of us, no matter where we go. Have fun, but be vigilant."

Mayor Jon Mitchell said the incident "is a rare occurrence during a very successful weekend for the city.

"The police are on it, and they will work hard to follow the evidence where it takes them," Mitchell said, adding that the theft hadn't come to his attention until he received a phone call from a reporter.

Dagny Ashley, the city's director of tourism and marketing, agreed that the theft was rare.

"In the years that the Folk Festival has been doing their festival, and all the others downtown, we don't really have that problem," she said. "I don't think it was organized crime, so to speak. It happens everywhere."

Ashley said it seemed to be a random occurrence, and she said she hopes it doesn't discourage vendors from future events.

"Most of the time, 98 percent of the time, everything goes smoothly," she said. "But occasionally these are going to happen. We're a big city, that's hard to prevent sometimes ... Hopefully it's a one-time incident."